Brian Winter on AP about the U.S. and Brazil's Judicial Path regarding Trump and Bolsonaro
Brian Winter on AP about the U.S. and Brazil's Judicial Path regarding Trump and Bolsonaro
"If you disqualify a popular leader, then that, too, can end up eroding your democracy," said the AS/COA vice president to the news agency.
A polarized nation. A right-wing populist casting doubt on the electoral system then refusing to concede. A riot by his supporters in the capital aiming to keep him in power.
This isn’t just the story of Donald Trump, but also that of Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro. The Western Hemisphere’s two largest democracies faced similar challenges in 2020 and 2022, respectively, but their institutional responses have been dramatically different.
Brazil moved swiftly to rule Bolsonaro ineligible for office until 2030, a penalty that could be extended by ongoing criminal investigations. In Washington, however, Republicans in the Senate helped acquit Trump in an impeachment trial that would have prevented him from seeking the presidency again. And the legal process unfolded slowly as the courts grappled with the novelty of prosecuting a onetime president. [...]
The U.S. has a system built on two major political parties, one of them fully controlled by Trump, said Levitsky. Brazil, by contrast, has dozens of parties with shifting allegiances, right-wing politicians who seek Bolsonaro’s support but don’t rely on his blessing and viable standard-bearers waiting in the wings.
When electronic vote results came in, key members of the political establishment from across the spectrum endorsed them, including the lower house’s Speaker Arthur Lira, a one-time Bolsonaro backer.
“He stood up on election night in front of the cameras and said the people have voted and their will must be respected,” said Brian Winter, a longtime Brazil observer and vice president of the New York-based Council of the Americas. “If (then-Senate leader) Mitch McConnell had done something similar in the United States, I think history would have been very different.” [...]
There has been criticism of the investigations targeting Bolsonaro from his far-right supporters, but also questions among some moderate jurists and analysts. “I would be hesitant for anyone to hold this up as a model, and that’s because if you disqualify a popular leader, then that, too, can end up eroding your democracy,” said Winter of the Council of the Americas, noting concerns by some Brazilian jurists of possible cutting of corners or unfair targeting.
